Asia, China, Everest Attempt

Climbs And Expeditions

Climb Year:

Publication Year: 1984

Everest Attempt. We established Base Camp at the terminal moraine of the Rongbuk Glacier at 16,900 feet on March 24 after a three-day truck trip from Lhasa. We were 12 climbers, including a doctor and two television reporters. Our plan was to climb without porters and supplementary oxygen. We carried five bottles of oxygen for sleeping at high camps. During April we placed Camps I, II, III, IV and V at 18,375, 19,700, 21,325, 22,975 and 24,950 feet. We fixed rope on the ascent to the North Col and on the ice ridge between Camps IV and V, a total of 1000 meters. In extremely unstable, cold weather we made our final assault in mid-May, supported by Juan Pardo and Luis Garcia, placing Camps VI and VII at 26,400 and 27,325 feet. The summit team, Claudio Lucero, Iván Vigoroux, Dagoberto Peña and I, trapped by high winds, stayed three days and nights at Camp VII without artificial oxygen, which caused all four to become exhausted and one to suffer from cerebral edema. On May 21 we left Camp VII to bring the sick man down to Camp III. We had an unfortunate event. Gino Casassa, without permission and without our knowledge, climbed Chang- tse. This caused a series of problems with the Chinese authorities. He has been expelled from our Federation. The other members were Claudio Gálvez, Nelson Rivera, Nelson Muñoz, Eduardo Parvex, Jorge Bassa, Santiago Pavlovic and Danilo Aravena.

Gastón Oyarzún, Federación de Andinismo de Chile

Asia, China, Everest Attempt

Everest Attempt. We established Base Camp at the terminal moraine of the Rongbuk Glacier at 16,900 feet on March 24 after a three-day truck trip from Lhasa. We were 12 climbers, including a doctor and two television reporters. Our plan was to climb without porters and supplementary oxygen. We carried five bottles of oxygen for sleeping at high camps. During April we placed Camps I, II, III, IV and V at 18,375, 19,700, 21,325, 22,975 and 24,950 feet. We fixed rope on the ascent to the North Col and on the ice ridge between Camps IV and V, a total of 1000 meters. In extremely unstable, cold weather we made our final assault in mid-May, supported by Juan Pardo and Luis Garcia, placing Camps VI and VII at 26,400 and 27,325 feet. The summit team, Claudio Lucero, Iván Vigoroux, Dagoberto Peña and I, trapped by high winds, stayed three days and nights at Camp VII without artificial oxygen, which caused all four to become exhausted and one to suffer from cerebral edema. On May 21 we left Camp VII to bring the sick man down to Camp III. We had an unfortunate event. Gino Casassa, without permission and without our knowledge, climbed Chang- tse. This caused a series of problems with the Chinese authorities. He has been expelled from our Federation. The other members were Claudio Gálvez, Nelson Rivera, Nelson Muñoz, Eduardo Parvex, Jorge Bassa, Santiago Pavlovic and Danilo Aravena.

Gastón Oyarzún, Federación de Andinismo de Chile

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